Power driven pipe wrench



y 0, 1956 F. N. THERIEN POWER DRIVEN PIPE WRENCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filfld Oct. 8, 1954 INVENTOR. FRAucufi Nfl'uameu ATTO 2M EYS y 10, 1956 I F. N. THERlEN 2,753,744

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United States Patent O POWER DRIVEN PIPE WRENCH Francis N. Therien, Pacoima, Calif.

Application October 8, 1954, Serial No. 461,198

3 Claims. (Cl. 81-57) The present invention relates generally to tools and in particular to an electrically driven portable pipe wrench.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a portable pipe wrench having an electric motor operable to rotate a pipe when held between the jaws of the wrench.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wrench having an adjustable clamping member for clamping the jaws of the wrench around a pipe so that the rollers which rotate the pipe may bite into the pipe.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a portable pipe wrench which has its clamping member operative in connection with the handle to form a gripping member for securing the pipe within the recess formed by the clamping member and the body of the Wrench.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a Wrench of sturdy and simple construction and one which is efiicient in operation and one which may be made in a variety of sizes to suit particularly sized pipes or to be used in various industries as desired.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure l is a top plan View of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view in elevation and partially in cross section, showing in dotted lines the sliding movement of the clamping member of the invention.

Figure 3 is a partial view partially in cross section on line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an end view in cross section on line 4-4 of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is a further cross sectional view on line 55 of Figure 2.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing, in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the present invention is seen to consist of a body member having a handle 11 at one end and having a clamping member 12 slidably carried on the body member and movable in back and forth movements toward and away from the handle 11.

As best shown in Figure 4, the body member 10 is formed on its top edge with a trackway 13 which provides a slide for the undercut inner wall 14 of the clamping member 12. The clamping member 12 is formed with an upstanding rib 15 which has a hole 16 receiving the thumb screw 17 for adjustment of the clamping member 12 longitudinally with respect to the body member 10 and to the arms 18 which overlie the rib 15 on each side and are pivotally connected to the short leg 19 of the L-shaped gripping member 20. The L-shaped gripping member 20 is positioned so that the long leg overlies the handle 11 and is pivotally connected as at 20 to the body member 10.

The body member 10 and the clamping member 12 are arranged with respect to each other so as to have confronting walls 21 and 22, respectively, which form a recess into which a pipe, indicated in dotted lines at 2,753,744 Patented July 10', 1956 36 in Figure 2, may be inserted transversely of its length for rotation.

The wall 22 of the clamping member 12 is formed with a hollowed-out portion into which fits a freely rotatable roller 23, journaled on a shaft 24 fixed in each side of the clamping member 12 across the hollowed-out portion. The body member 10 is provided with spaced apart side walls 25 and 26 and has a gear train as indicated by the reference numeral 27 pinioned therein for driving a pair of spaced apart gripping rollers 28 and 29.

An electric motor 30 is built into the body member 10 adjacent the handle 11 and is operably connected to the first gear 31 in the gear train by the worm 32 on its shaft 33.

The gear train transmits the power of the motor 30 at a reduced speed and with greater torque to the gripping rollers 28 and 29, the outer surfaces of which are cylindrical in shape and are provided with knurled, milled, or other gripping means so that they bite into the outer wall of a pipe supported in the recess formed between the body member 10 and the roller 23 on the clamping member 12. Suitable bearings, one of which is shown at 34 in Figure 2, supports the motor shaft 33 in the body member 10.

In operation, the arms 18 and the ribs 15 are positioned with respect to each other to provide for sufiicient sliding movement of the clamping member on the body member so that a pipe positioned in the recess may be gripped firmly enough to permit the gripping rollers to rotate it, the long leg 35 of the L-shaped gripping member 20 cooperating with the handle 11 to form a convenient and powerful means of applying the necessary gripping action.

While only a single embodiment of the present invention has been here shown and described, other embodiments of the invention are contemplated and many changes and modifications of the invention may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A power driven pipe wrench comprising a body member having a handle at one end thereof, a clamping member slidably carried by said body member at the other end thereof for movement toward and away from said handle, said body member and said clamping member being formed with confronting walls forming a pipe receiving recess, support means connected to said wall of said clamping member for engaging a pipe received in said recess, roller means connected to the wall of said body member for rotatably engaging said pipe when received in said recess, means carried by said body member for effecting rotation of said roller means, and means carried by said body member for effecting movement of the said clamping member for clamping said pipe between said support means and said roller means, said last mentioned means comprising an upstanding rib extending longitudinally of and on said clamping member, a pair of spaced longitudinally extending arms carried by said body member and slidably receiving said rib therebetween, means connecting said rib to said arms, and an L-shaped gripping member positioned so that the long leg overlies said handle pivotally connected at the jointure point of the long and short legs to said body member and having the short leg pivotally connected to said arms.

2. A power driven pipe wrench comprising a body member having a handle at one end thereof, a clamping member slidably carried by said body member at the other end thereof for movement toward and away from said handle, said body member and said clamping member being formed with confronting walls forming a pipe receiving recess, a freely rotatable roller connected to said wall of said clamping member for supportably engaging a pipe received in said recess, roller means connected to the wall of said body member for rotatably engaging said pipe when received in said recess, means carried by said body member for effecting rotation of said roller means, and means carried by said body member for effecting movement of said clamping member toward said handle for clamping said pipe between said rotable roller and said roller means, said last mentioned means comprising an upstanding rib extending longitudinally of and on said clamping member, a pair of spaced longitudinally extending arms carried by said body member and slidably receiving said rib therebetween, means connecting said rib to said arms, and an L-shaped gripping member positioned so that the long leg overlies said handle pivotally connected at the jointure point of the long and short legs to said body member and having the short leg pivotally connected to said arms.

3. A power driven pipe wrench comprising a body member having a handle at one end thereof, a clamping member slidably carried by said body member at the other end thereof for movement toward and away from said handle, said body member and said clamping member being formed with confronting walls forming a pipe receiving recess, a freely rotatable roller connected to said wall of said clamping member for supportably engaging a pipe received in said recess, a pair of rotatable rollers carried on said wall of said body member for rotation of said pipe when received in said recess, means carried by said body for effecting rotation of said pair of rollers, and means carried by said body member for effecting movement of said clamping member toward said handle for clamping said pipe between said rotatable roller and said pair of rollers, said last mentioned means comprising an upstanding rib extending lingitudinally of and on said clamping member, a pair of spaced 1ongitudinally extending arms carried by said body member and slidably receiving said rib therebetween, means connecting said rib to said arms, and an L-shaped gripping member positioned so that the long leg overlies said handle pivotally connected at the jointure point of the long and short legs to said body member and having the short leg pivotally connected to said arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,304,770 Hestand May 27, 1919 1,805,007 Pedley May 12, 1931 2,195,568 Hexdall Apr. 2, 1940 2,460,671 Benedick Feb. 1, 1949 2,615,682 Stone Oct. 28, 1952 

